Biochar Mitigates Salinity Stress in Potato

A pot experiment was conducted in a climate‐controlled greenhouse to investigate the growth, physiology and yield of potato in response to salinity stress under biochar amendment. It was hypothesized that addition of biochar may improve plant growth and yield by mitigating the negative effect of salinity through its high sorption ability. From tuber bulking to harvesting, the plants were exposed to three saline irrigations, that is 0, 25 and 50 mm NaCl solutions, respectively, and two levels of biochar (0 % and 5 % W/W) treatments. An adsorption study was also conducted to study the Na⁺ adsorption capability of biochar. Results indicated that biochar was capable to ameliorate salinity stress by adsorbing Na⁺. Increasing salinity level resulted in significant reductions of shoot biomass, root length and volume, tuber yield, photosynthetic rate (A_n), stomatal conductance (g_s), midday leaf water potential, but increased abscisic acid (ABA) concentration in both leaf and xylem sap. At each salinity level, incorporation of biochar increased shoot biomass, root length and volume, tuber yield, A_n, g_s, midday leaf water potential, and decreased ABA concentration in the leaf and xylem sap as compared with the respective non‐biochar control. Decreased Na⁺, Na⁺/K⁺ ratio and increased K⁺ content in xylem with biochar amendment also indicated its ameliorative effects on potato plants in response to salinity stress. The results suggested that incorporation of biochar might be a promising approach for enhancing crop productivity in salt‐affected soils.     

Influence of the root endophyte Piriformospora indica on the plant water relations,gas exchange and growth of Chenopodium quinoa at limited water availability

This study aimed to evaluate the ability of Piriformospora indica to colonize the root of Chenopodium quinoa and to verify whether this endosymbiont can improve the growth, performance and drought resistance of this species. The study delivered, for the first time, evidence for successful colonization of P. indica in quinoa. Hence, pot experiment was conducted in the greenhouse, where inoculated and non‐inoculated plants were subjected to ample (40%–50% WHC) and deficit (15%–20%WHC) irrigation treatments. Drought adversely influenced the plant growth, leading to decline the total plant biomass by 74%. This was linked to an impaired photosynthetic activity (caused by lower g_s and C_i/C_a ratio; stomatal limitation of photosynthesis) and a higher risk of ROS production (enhanced ETR/A_gross ratio). P. indica colonization improved quinoa plant growth, with total biomass increased by 8% (controls) and 76% (drought‐stressed plants), confirming the growth‐promoting activity of P. indica. Fungal colonization seems to diminish drought‐induced growth hindrance, likely, through an improved water balance, reflected by the higher leaf ψ_w and g_s. Additionally, stomatal limitation of photosynthesis was alleviated (indicated by enhanced C_i/C_a ratio and A_net), so that the threat of oxidative stress was minimized (decreased ETR/A_gross). These results infer that symbiosis with P. indica could negate some of the detrimental effects of drought on quinoa growth, a highly desired feature, in particular at low water availability.     

Evaluation of Cold Tolerance in NERICAs Compared with Japanese Standard Rice Varieties at the Reproductive Stage

New Rice for Africa (NERICA) is a general name for interspecific rice varieties derived from a cross between the high‐yielding Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) between locally adapted African rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.). Eight NERICAs were evaluated for cold tolerance (CT) at the reproductive stage and compared with their O. sativa parents and three Japanese standard rice varieties over 3 years. Cold tolerance was evaluated based on the filled grain ratio (FGR) after cold water irrigation. The FGR was greatly reduced by cold water irrigation. NERICA 1, 2 and 7 had higher FGR (51.9–57.9 %), while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 had lower FGR (6.2–14.5 %). NERICA 1, 2 and 7 were less affected by cold stress, with a 31 % mean reduction in FGR, while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 were greatly affected, with their FGRs being reduced by more than 80 %. NERICA 3 and 4 were moderately affected by cold stress, with about 45 % reduction rate in FGR. FGR significantly influenced the grain weights of the varieties with strong positive correlations (r = 0.83–0.91; P < 0.001), and thus, similar trends in grain weights were observed. Grain weights were reduced by 61.7–96.4 % under cold stress. NERICA 1, 2 and 7 showed significantly better performance than NERICA 3 and 4, while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 performed poorly under cold water irrigation. The Japanese varieties Koshihikari (very tolerant) and Ozora (moderately tolerant) were more affected by cold water irrigation than NERICA 1, 2 and 7. On the basis of the mean reduction rate (%) in FGR under cold stress, the varieties were classified as follows: NERICA 1, 2 and 7 as tolerant; NERICA 3 and 4 as moderately tolerant; and NERICA 6, 15 and 16 as susceptible to cold stress. However, NERICA 7 grain yields were lower under cold stress due to both greatly reduced number of panicles per plant and number of spikelets per panicle. Therefore, NERICA 1 and 2 are suitable candidates for production in the highland regions of East Africa and should be promoted for production.     

Pedotransfer functions to assess adsorbed phosphate using iron oxide content and magnetic susceptibility in an Oxisol

Adsorbed phosphate in soils can be chemically extracted; however, this process is both time‐consuming and not cost‐effective if large numbers of samples have to be analysed. Indirect assessment of adsorbed phosphate by pedotransfer functions (PTFs) can help optimize fertilizer strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of adsorbed phosphate (P_ads), iron oxides and magnetic susceptibility (MS) in oxisols and to calibrate PTFs to predict P_ads. A total of 308 soil samples were collected from Hapludox and Eutrudox soils formed from sandstone in Brazil. The contents of clay (196–607 g/kg), iron oxides (40–165 g/kg), MS (1.2–29 × 10^?6 m³/kg) and P_ads (327–842 mg/kg) were in the range of typical values for these highly weathered soils. This study showed that the attributes studied were spatially dependent. Geomorphic surfaces enabled understanding of spatial variability and helped to develop a more efficient sampling scheme to calibrate PTFs. Moreover, the adsorbed phosphate in these oxisols could be predicted by a PTF using iron oxides and MS as predictors. The MS attribute enabled the most accurate prediction (concordance coefficient = 0.95, root‐mean‐square error = 46 mg/kg and relative improvement in root‐mean‐square error = ?4.12) of spatial variability through PTF compared to other predictors.     

Can soil moisture deficit be used to forecast when soils are at high risk of damage owing to grazing animals?

A potentially significant cause of damage to grassland soils is compaction of unsaturated soil and poaching of saturated or nearly saturated soil by animal hooves. Damage is caused when an applied stress is in excess of the bearing strength of the soil and results in a loss of soil structure, macroporosity and air or water conductivity. Severely damaged soils can cause reduced grassland productivity and make grazing management very difficult for the farmer. The actual amount of soil damage that can occur during grazing is dependent on the grass cover which acts as a protecting layer, the soil water content and the characteristics of the grazing animal (weight and hoof size). Assuming that the farmer is knowledgeable about the characteristics of the grazing animal and grass cover, it would be very useful for short‐term operational farm planning to be able to predict when soil water contents were likely to be in a critical range with respect to potential hoof damage. In this study soil moisture deficits (SMDs) which can be derived from meteorological forecasts are evaluated for predicting when soil water conditions are likely to lead to hoof damage. Two contrasting Irish grassland soils were analysed using a Hounsfield servo‐mechanical vertical testing machine to simulate static (285.4 N) and dynamic (571 N) hoof loads on the soil over a range of estimated SMDs (0, 5, 10 and 20 mm). The deficits were analysed with respect to the soil volumetric water content, compression (displacement) and change in dry bulk density. The SMDs imposed in the laboratory were similar to those under field conditions and thus the methods used in this study are applicable elsewhere. The change in dry bulk density following loading (0.2–0.7 g/cm³) was linearly related to SMD (R² ranged from 0.90 to 0.99), leading to the conclusion that a forecast of SMD can be used to predict when grassland soils are likely to be at risk of damage from grazing.     

Abscisic Acid May Alter the Salicylic Acid‐Related Abiotic Stress Response in Maize

The effect of 0, 0.05 or 0.1 mm abscisic acid treatment on chilling tolerance and salicylic acid‐related responses was investigated in young maize seedlings (Zea mays L., hybrid Norma). Although the pre‐treatment of maize seedlings with abscisic acid slightly decreased the chlorophyll content, it also reduced the level of chilling injury caused by 6 days of cold treatment at 5 °C. Under normal growth conditions, increased levels of bound salicylic acid and of bound ortho‐hydroxycinnamic acid were observed in the leaves during abscisic acid treatment. In the roots, abscisic acid did not affect the free and bound salicylic acid levels, but increased the amount of free and bound ortho‐hydroxycinnamic acid. The activity of glutathione‐S‐transferase increased on the 3rd day of abscisic acid treatment, whereas it did not change when followed by cold stress, compared with the control leaves. In the roots, the activities of glutathione reductase, glutathione‐S‐transferase and ascorbate peroxidase increased during the abscisic acid treatment, and those of glutathione‐S‐transferase and ascorbate peroxidase were also stimulated when abscisic acid pre‐treatment was followed by cold stress, compared with the control roots. Our results suggest that an overlap may exist between the abscisic acid‐induced cold acclimation and the salicylic acid‐related stress response.     

覆膜对宁南山区马铃薯光合特性和产量的影响

以青薯9号原种为材料，采用大田单因素随机区组设计，以不覆膜为对照，研究了覆盖黑膜和白膜对马铃薯光合特性、荧光参数、干物质积累以及产量的影响。结果表明：与不覆膜相比，覆膜条件下马铃薯净光合速率提高0.4~3.0个百分点，气孔导度和胞间CO₂浓度平均增加31.45%和6.58%，Fv/Fm、Fv/Fo、PI分别提高了2.47%、12.18%、20.93%；蒸腾速率在马铃薯生育前期覆膜比不覆膜降低20.82%，而后期却比对照增加8.55%，热耗散量子比率Fo/Fm覆膜较不覆膜处理降低7.11%，差异达显著水平；覆膜比不覆膜处理条件下马铃薯干物质积累量增加0.25~1.86个百分点，大薯率和中薯率分别增加33.78%，15.73%，每公顷产量增加43.08%，其中黑膜处理的各项指标优于白膜，黑膜比白膜和不覆膜增产16.86%、54.20%，差异达显著水平。因此，覆膜处理可以显著提高马铃薯的光合性能、荧光参数和产量，有效缓解干旱等逆境引起的马铃薯的衰老，减轻干旱对马铃薯的危害。在宁南山区，马铃薯采用黑色地膜覆盖栽培技术具有延缓叶片衰老和增加产量的作用。